Outstanding Southern Green-Glazed Redware Fish Bottle, Salem, NC origin, circa 1804-1829, molded bottle in the form of a fish with spouted mouth, the body embellished with elaborate scale, fin, and gill details. Surface covered in a heavy green slip composed of copper oxide and kaolin, with overlying clear lead glaze. A highly unusual aspect of this bottle is the fact that one of the fish's eyes has been highlighted in orange clay, a treatment created by brushing orange slip over the green slip coating, or by scraping away some of the green to reveal the base clay below. The bottle was also modified with a flattened bottom after its removal from the mold to allow it to rest upright on the figure's stomach. This exciting new discovery, recently found among the contents of an early Northeastern U.S. antiques collection, ranks as one of the finest examples of Moravian figural ware to come to auction in years. Provenance: A fresh-to-the-market example discovered in a Northeastern U.S. antiques collection assembled during the mid 20th century. A few surface flakes and light surface wear to reverse. Two small in-the-firing touch marks on reverse, visible on tail and spout. Opposite side of fish in excellent, essentially as-made condition. L 7 3/8".
